With the increased awareness of the need to protect handicapped passengers during travel, research has determined that most of the available seats and wheelchairs for use in transporting passengers in busses, van, and other similar types of vehicles have been modified during recent years to accomodate the transportation of handicapped people, particularly those who are confined to wheelchairs. However, it has been proven that the safety of passengers traveling in wheelchairs or conventional bus seats is significantly endangered. One approach to lessening the danger has been the modification of the floor of such vehicles and/or the vehicle seat frames to receive wheelchairs and/or means for locking the wheelchairs into a generally immobile position.
Another approach has been the provision of a safety seat much like those used in automobiles to seat small children. However, these seats are primarily useful for infants and very small children and have not been well designed for use by adults or large children.
Attempts at locking down wheelchairs on busses and vans have also proved unsatisfactory for a variety of reasons. One of the primary reasons is that it is relatively easy for a wheelchair to become unlocked and to begin rolling. Additionally, wheelchairs themselves are bulky and substantially reduce the number of passengers that can be carried in one vehicle. Other modifications made either to the vehicle seats or to the wheelchairs are dangerous in that ultimately the changes reduce the crashworthiness of the seat.
It is generally accepted that prevention of serious and death in motor vehicle accidents is most effectively achieved by preventing the "second impact"--or human collision; i.e., the occupant striking the vehicle interior. Prevention of this second, human collision requires that the wheelchair itself be secured independently of the occupant. Such a requirement is complicated by the fact that wheelchairs are not designed for use as a vehicle seat and therefore not constructed with the intent to survive vehicle collisions.
Because of such problems the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has stated that although authorities are aware of the problems involved in transporting handicapped people, there has been very little progress made toward resolving the problem. Federal and state laws will, in the near future, require provision of minimal safety devices on vehicles transporting children or handicapped persons. While it may be relatively easy to meet the safety needs of those children and adults who are not handicapped, the transportation of handicapped persons will remain a primary concern for parents and others who must be continuously involved.
It is toward the resolution of some of these problems and disadvantages with the existing art that the present inventor is working. The present invention comprises a seat for handicapped persons which seat can be mounted securely but detachably over the existing conventional seat in a bus or van. The seat itself includes a frame constructed of an aluminum material which supports an overlying cushioned seat. The preferred embodiment of the seat frame includes a pair of retractable straps or, in an alternate embodiment, brackets which fit over the top and behind the existing vehicle seat to prevent forward tilting of the handicapped safety seat. The seat frame is basically of a configuration defining the conventional shape of a seat, a back, and the above-described straps or brackets. A sheet of perforated aluminum is formed into the basic seat and back and supports a foam cushion thereover. Alternate embodiments of the frame include a plurality of interrelated side and crossbars with associated braces for strength; or a plurality of horizontal bars extending between the side rails. A foam cushion overlies these embodiments as in the preferred. Arm rests are pivotally attached to the frame or to the side rails of the frame and may be pivoted outwardly and upwardly to provide clear access for moving the person from a wheelchair into the passenger safety seat. When the passenger is in place the arm rests are tilted downwardly to a normal position on either side of the person. A foot support extending downwardly from the front of the seat portion of the passenger safety seat supports the feet of the passenger. If desired or necessary, an optional head rest may be attached to the back frame to support the head of the passenger and minimize any likelihood of injury due to a sudden impact which might cause a whiplash or other such injury to the neck or head. The head rest, arm rests, and foot support all include adjustable straps to retain the patient's extremities in or on the respective support.
In the preferred embodiment, the means for securing the safety seat over the conventional vehicle seat includes two pairs of retractable straps which buckle to the floor of the bus or van. The first pair of straps, which form a first retaining means are attached to the upper front surface of the back of the safety seat -- one strap on either side -- and are coiled such that the straps may be extended from the safety seat back over and downwardly behind the vehicle seat to a floor-mounted latch or clasp. The second pair of straps forming a second retaining means are retractably mounted on the rearward facing surface of the foot support, such that the straps, when uncoiled, extend backwardly under the vehicle seat to the aforementioned floor-mounted clasp. Each of the straps includes a stop mechanism associated with the coil or winding control to prevent loosening of the strap after the seat is secured in place. An alternate embodiment of the second retaining means includes a belt or strap that is attached at one end to the floor of the vehicle by a buckle, is looped over the safety seat at the juncture of seat and back, and fastened at the opposite end to the floor of the vehicle. A second alternative of the second retaining means includes means whereby the seat strap is attached first to the seat frame of the bus or vehicle, and extended over the safety seat (under the overlying cushioned seat) to fasten to the opposite side of the vehicle seat frame. In this second alternative the strap or belt includes a plurality of adjustment slots or loops which are engaged by a wing-nut and long U-bolt to attach the belt to the bus frame. The aforementioned upper straps or brackets which extend from the back portion of the seat frame for mounting over the top and behind the bus seat further secure the safety seat and prevent it from tilting forwardly.
Because of the ease in fastening or unfastening any of the straps in either embodiment, the present invention may be quickly and efficiently mounted on or removed from the vehicle seat. It is thereby obvious that the present invention allows the safe seating and transportation of handicapped people without requiring permanent modification of the conventional seats in a bus or other vehicle. It should also be obvious that one or more of these safety seats could be provided for use on school busses, city transportation, or other types of vehicles which are not dedicated primarily to transportation of the handicapped.
The objectives of the present invention therefore include the provision of a means for the safe transportation of handicapped persons. A further objective is the provision of such transportation through means of a safety seat which may be easily and detachably mounted over the existing conventional seat of a bus or other such vehicle. Another objective is the provision of a safety seat for transporting handicapped persons and including means for restraining the passenger as necessary; specifically providing head, arm/wrist, and foot-restraining means. Other and further modifications of the present invention will become apparent when studying the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.